Esoteric Star Wars III: R2-D2 what are you?

R2-D2 is arguably the most significant character of the Star Wars film series. This is not just my opinion but the opinion of George Lucas himself. There are multiple instances in the commentaries of the films where Lucas testifies to this point. When asked in an interview if there was a character that he was going to miss Lucas replied:

"Well, R2-D2...because he's the hero of the whole thing. He's the one that always comes through and saves everybody. I'd like to have a pal like that that would come and save me once in a while..."

Ewan McGregor, Obi-Wan portrayer in the prequel trilogy, stated in an interview, "As soon as Artoo-Detoo comes on the set, everyone goes a bit silly". He further mentioned that his then four year old daughter announced to him that she was in love with R2. McGregor furthered:

"...there is something about him that makes you feel great affection for him. I think it is a combination of his shape, his high-pitched voice. He's just incredibly appealing. In fact, I believe he is George [Lucas]'s favorite actor."

This status of R2 as the true hero of the epic maybe why in some Spanish speaking countries he is renamed Arturito, meaning "little Arthur". Love for R2-D2 is nearly universal. I can think of people who have stated "I don't like/I hate Star Wars", but I can't recall anyone ever specifically stating that they hate R2-D2. The same can't be said of C-3PO. This is likely due to a number of factors of the character design and portrayal. One essential might be in the human qualities of his appearance, made abstract to a degree that allows for universal personal identification, a concept described towards emotional response to cartoon characters by Scott McCloud in "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art".

McCloud also talks about the human propensity to project ourselves into certain objects and tools, especially so with cars (i.e. when someone bumps your car with their car you'd likely state "He hit me!" rather than "He hit my car with his car!"). I believe this in part is why many people develop autophilia. I make mention of this because I believe the character development of the Droids, especially R2, largely stems for Lucas' much professed love of auto racing and custom cars. R2-D2 is the offspring of Toto and the souped-up, customized hobby car in the garage.

I left you hanging at the end of my last article, These Artoo the droids you're looking for,with my emphasis of the fact that as an astromech droid R2-D2 by necessity must think at faster then light speeds into extradimensional directions in order to perform the calculations necessary for hyperspace navigations. To me this seems a clever sci-fi manner of describing a heightened consciousness far beyond the "limits" of a human mind. Add this intrinsic but quiet aspect of R2 to the fact that this simple seeming figure elicits instant love in viewers, and Lucas' assertion of the character as the ultimate hero of the saga, and you have a highly significant figure. In this article I'll look at the development and portrayal of R2-D2. My next article will focus on his in-story origins and actions.

Like much of the original trilogy material, R2-D2 was visually developed from designs by futurist artist Ralph McQuarrie. While not exactly a household name McQuarrie's work as a futurist visionary will inevitably come to be seen as some of the most important and influential material of this era. I say this due to his fundamental role not just in the design of Star Wars but also in the original "Battlestar Galactica", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "E.T.", "Cocoon" and "Jurassic Park".




From a point during early script development when Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia were the same character, "The Hidden Fortress" in space


Action figures based on McQuarrie's initial 3PO and R2-D2 designs

I'm fascinated by the beautiful McQuarrie paintings. The gold and silver aspects are more prominent in this early version of 3PO and R2. The arms attached to the dome, at least in the action figure version positioned as they are, gives him the appearance of an animated Mercury symbol. Look at those arms again and think caduceus.

Other then the coloration and those permanent arms the design of R2 remained relatively intact. One cited source of inspiration are Huey, Dewey and Louie from the 1972 film "Silent Running".



He's even more visually similarity to Analyzer/IQ-9 from "Space Battleship Yamato/Star Blazers" though this seems more synchronistic in nature as initial drafts of "Star Wars" were completed by the time "Yamato" first aired in Japan in 1974.



Another amazing R2-D2 synchronicity is the mechanical owl Bubo from the 1981 Ray Harryhausen movie "Clash of the Titans".



Despite public perception, and "Titans" coming out after both "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back", Harryhausen had developed Bubo prior to R2-D2's introduction in 1977. This seems difficult to believe, given the similarity of the characters' appearance, vocalizations and roles in the story, but a creative force like Ray Harryhausen had no need to swipe characters from other movies. In "Titans" Bubo is a gift to Perseus from the goddess Athena. In "A New Hope" R2-D2 passes from sovereignty figure Princess Leia to solar hero Luke Skywalker.

That R2-D2 was a part of the picture from the outset can be testified by the account of the origins of the character name. George Lucas was working on the script for "Star Wars" during the production of his 1973 film "American Graffiti" . As the legend goes a crew member requested Reel 2, Dialog 2 by using the abbreviation R2,D2, and Lucas thought it had a nice sound as a name for one of his robot characters.

The original trilogy split the portrayal of R2-D2 between a live actor in a costume/puppet and a remote control model, the distinction based on the actions being performed. In the prequel trilogy digital depiction was added to these methods. The talented Kenny Baker performed as R2 in five of the six movies. Though he's credited with the role for "Revenge of the Sith" he did not actually work in that film.



Baker has also appeared in David Lynch's 1980 film "The Elephant Man", the 1980 "Flash Gordon", the 1984 Mozart biopic "Amadeus", Jim Henson's 1986 "Labyrinth", and Neil Jordan's "Mona Lisa" that same year. His most prominent role besides R2-D2 was certainly as Fidgit in Terry Gilliam's "Time Bandits", one of my favorite films which I discussed in Inside the Map of the Universe. In "Return of the Jedi" he also played the part of the Ewok Paploo, the one who bravely stole the Stormtrooper speederbike creating a diversion allowing the Rebels to break into the Death Star's shield generator.



He was originally meant to play Wicket W. Warrick but had to be replaced when shooting came with a young Warwick Davis (Warwick "Wicket Willow Flitwick Griphook Leprechaun Marvin Reepicheep Nikabrik" Davis) due to a sudden illness, likely food poisoning. The performance of Baker in this role synchronistically connects humble-seeming R2-D2 to no less then the major mythological figures of Dionysus and Osiris via his birthday, August 24th. According to Plutarch this is the date of birth of these concurrent solar deities as described in the article Five Days Out of Time by John Opsopaus.

The other major component of R2's portrayal, and another key to his high likability, are his vocalizations, created and performed (playing his own recorded vocalizations) by Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt. Burtt had auditioned for the role of Luke. The voice of R2 may be an even more significant role. R2's speech is largely similar to and designed after infant vocalizations, sounds we're hard wired to find endearing, working much the same as R2's child-size stature. Interestingly Ben Burtt also provided the vocal sounds for the Pixar (which would never have existed without Lucasfilm) movie "WALL-E". WALL-E then might be viewed as a form of R2-D2 in the starring role he's always deserved.



Or perhaps WALL-E is the crossbreed of R2-D2 and Johnny-5 from "Short Circuit" (which starred Steve Guttenberg, also born on August 24th, also in the film "Cocoon").  WALL-E is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of robot characters obviously informed by R2-D2, many of which are far more visually blatant (i.e V.I.N.CENT and Old B.O.B. from "The Black Hole", or H.E.R.B.I.E. from the late 70s "Fantastic Four" cartoon* replacing the Human Torch on the team). Indeed the cultural influence of R2-D2 is profound. He was inducted into The Robot Hall of Fame in 2003, the first year of nominations, sharing the honor with the Mars Pathfinder Sojourner Rover, Unimate (the first assembly line robotic arm) and HAL 9000. C-3PO didn't make it in until 2004.

R2's simple shapes have made him the most marketable of Star Wars icons. In March 0f 2007 the USPS replaced several hundred mailboxes around the country with ones designed to look like R2-D2 to promote the Star Wars Stamps (illustrated by the great Drew Struzan) celebrating the 30th anniversary of the franchise, emphasizing his role as Messenger.





He's also the nickname for the Phalanx CIWS anti-missile defense system. Beyond this there are R2-D2 shaped movie projector/DVD players, trash bins, laundry baskets, soap dispensers, night lights, etc. He even makes your food taste better.





R2 has made some subtle film cameos in what are, you may agree, highly significant locations. He makes a brief appearance in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", hanging upside down from the Mothership, just to the viewer's left of the three spot lights in the image below.



He also appears, along with C-3PO, amongst no less then the figures of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. This was in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in the Well of Souls, the holding place of the Ark of the Covenant.





With R2 the center of this mythological scene, perhaps receiving vital data as he did in "A New Hope", making him a repository of information, equating R2-D2 with the Ark of the Covenant itself. Just an in-joke/easter egg by Lucas or a subtle hint of a greater cohesiveness between the various works of George Lucas? Ancient Egyptians could potentially have made contact with the Droids considering the action of Star Wars took place an unspecified long time ago.

More on R2-D2 the next time around. While you wait you can play with the R2-D2 Translator. You can make him say your name, swear or whatever you like. I made him say Faster than light thought into extradimensional directions.

*Besides the interest that can be taken in an R2-D2 based character replacing the Promethean Human Torch, there's further interest here as the character was created for the cartoon by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the work of which had definite influence on Star Wars. A case of circular inspiration.

Esoteric Star Wars II: These Artoo the droids you're looking for

Part of the brilliance of "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" was the decision to tell the story from the point of view of the Droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO (I'll be using "Droids" to refer to R2 and 3PO specifically, compared to the general term "droids"). This device continues in more subtle ways throughout all six films. Star Wars is of course the saga of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and his children but the story is constructed to allow for this perspective to be carried through the entire six-part epic. The use of these two droids in the prequel trilogy also confirms what we can only suspect in the original films, that RD and 3PO are integral in and essential to the action of this mythology. One of the overriding concepts of Inside the Cosmic Cube is that Art is Magic and Magic is Art. That the depiction of Magic in any format in a work of fiction is symbolic of Art itself. Reversing this equation, all art works, including modern films and television, are magic spells. Since Star Wars, the most monumental and potent example of film Magic in history, starts with the Droids I felt it was not just important but necessary that my analysis of the mythology begin with them as well.

Amongst the sources of inspiration for the Droids the one presented by George Lucas as the most primary are the characters Tahei and Matakishi from Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film "The Hidden Fortress".




Toshiro Mifune as General Rokurota Makabe, Minoru Chiaki as Tahei and Kamatari Fujiwara as Matakishi

The influence of Kurosawa on Lucas is major. All three of the actors above appeared in multiple Kurosawa films (especially so Mifune). All three were also in the classics "Rashomon" and "Seven Samurai". "The Hidden Fortress" is not one of the Kurosawa movies that I've had the opportunity to see but reading its synopsis is enough to at least basically demonstrate how Tahei and Matakishi inform R2 and 3PO. In "The Hidden Fortress" Tahei and Matakishi are a pair of peasants who become the companions of General Rokurota Makabe and Princess Yuki as they travel through enemy territory transporting what remains of the royal family's wealth in hopes of reaching safe territory and reestablishing control.

This ingenious storytelling and thematic device of director Kurosawa of presenting grand, empire shaping events from the point of view of humble peasants, the lowest possible class of the society, was faithfully recreated by Lucas for "A New Hope", adapting the concept to his space opera/fantasy setting by making the peasants robots, which he termed droids (of course short for androids though that term is largely a misnomer for the robots of the Star Wars universe). Lucas' p.o.v. characters were then not just figures from the lowest rung of a societal class system, but objects, tools, programmed with a semblance of sentience but not actually alive or imbued with mind or soul. As tools the droids are frequently dismissed or unconsidered by the rest of the players in the saga, save for by the most humanitarian and enlightened characters (like Luke), but even then its inconsistent.

The matter of droid sentience is a very interesting topic to me, and really the impetus of this investigation. For years observing robots and artificially intelligent computers in fantasy fiction I've noted that no matter how essentially good or beneficial the robot normally might be it will inevitably go rogue, turn evil, at some point, even if the situation is merely temporary. It might not always happen, but it almost always happens, with the exception proving the rule that I cite being R2 and 3PO. Having R2 turn on Luke and company is almost unthinkable, practically obscene, like Toto going Cujo, biting Dorothy and ripping the stuffing out of the Scarecrow (the Lion of course would head for the hills).

So let's take a closer look at the concept of droids in the Star Wars mythos as they've been developed. According to Wookieepedia, the droids of the Star Wars universe are divided into five categories or classes (note there is a class system at play even amongst the droids) with the primary consideration of status based upon the sophistication of the individual unit's artificial intelligence, its capacity for independent thought. Wookieepedia describes the five categories as:

"First-degree: Droids capable of creative, complicated thought. Droids in this category were typically used in physical, mathematical, and medical science fields; though some extremely advanced assassin droids could also be placed here. Most one-of-a-kind prototypes or rogue machines could be classified as first-degree droids. Because of their background in medicine, many interrogation/torture droids were placed in this category as well.

Second-degree: Droids used in engineering and technical fields, such as astromech droids or utility droids. Probe droids and other scouts fit in this category, as well as pilot droids.

Third-degree: Social, diplomatic, or tutoring interaction droids, such as protocol droids.

Fourth-degree: Security or military droids. They were often capable of harming sentients, and so were strictly regulated.

Fifth-degree: Menial labor droids programmed to perform non-intelligent tasks such as salvage, mining and sanitation. "

Interesting that the classes are denoted as "degrees", the term used to describe the levels of initiation associated with occult organizations like Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism. Judged strictly by their make and model this system denotes the astromech R2-D2 as a Second-degree droid, and protocol droid C-3PO a Third-degree, though clearly both characters are actually First-degree droids. This is readily apparent with C-3PO as a "one-of-a-kind prototype" built by Anakin Skywalker. R2-D2 likewise has capacities beyond standard units of his category, however the origins of R2's special status are not made as readily apparent. You may have noticed, I believe it was in "Empire", that even the shipboard computer of the Millennium Falcon seems to have a certain intelligence and personality based on how 3PO refers to it.

I don't have much personal first-hand experience of the bulk of the Expanded Universe information, so my primary focus is on the material presented in the six movies. One EU item I do find interesting related to droids is the expanded storyline of the bounty hunter robot IG-88, whom you'll recall from that great Darth Vader bounty hunter hiring scene from "The Empire Strikes Back". IG-88 is the one on Boba Fett's right.



The expanded IG-88 storyline involves what is termed the Droid Revolution (I'm telling you, you just can't trust most robots). To this end IG-88 somehow uploaded its intelligence into the computer system of the second Death Star, in effect making IG-88 and the Death Star one and the same. This revolution was of course abruptly halted when Lando destroyed the Death Star's reactor core. This seems highly reminiscent of the Skynet take over for "The Terminator" franchise, for example, and somewhat like the revolt of HAL 9000 in "2001: A Space Odyssey". This story was told in the short story "Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88" written by Kevin J. Anderson and published as part of the book "Tales of the Bounty Hunters" published in 1996. The story's title references philosopher/mathematician Rene Descarte's proof "I think, therefore I am". As an item of Expanded Universe continuity that does not appear to have any reported contradictions this demonstrates that the existential artificial intelligence/sentience dilemma is a real if backstory aspect of the mythos. George Lucas has been quoted as saying that droids have no soul, however, I feel this statement to be subtly contradicted by the attitude of the Naboo who held higher degree droids as fellow sentients.  Naboo, birth world of Padmé Amidala, Emperor Palpatine and R2-D2, is a planet of utmost importance as signified by the esoteric symbolism associated with its depiction.

Indeed, the question might be asked that if in certain aspects droid consciousness could not be said to exceed or transcend that of organic consciousness (leaving the field of the comparative nature and quality of the various sentient species of the system for later discussions). I raise this due to consideration of the potential aspect of mind that could be possessed by an intelligence system, artificial or otherwise, possessing the capacity for fluency in six million forms of communication and their correspondent cultures like a protocol droid or capable of performing faster then light hyperspace navigation calculations like an astromech droid. This means the mind of R2-D2 thinks at faster then light speeds into extra-dimensional directions. One has to wonder then if the consciousness of R2-D2 might actually transcend that of even Yoda (note that even the greatest Jedi are clearly shown to be fallible). If such were the case his actions throughout the films would then be based on fulfilling a personal mandate developed by a cognitive system completely unfathomable to human sensibilities. This is I'm sure a controversial concept, so let me reemphasize, faster then light thought into extradimensional directions.

More on R2 and 3PO coming soon.

Esoteric Star Wars I: Don't you call me a mindless philosopher-

Star Wars is religion. In many ways it could be said that Star Wars is my religion. I grew up in an environment that fostered free thinking and self-determination on metaphysical matters. I was four years old when the film that became "Star Wars Episode I: A New Hope" was released. Not only is seeing "Star Wars" amongst my earliest memories, but the anticipation of seeing Star Wars, because my older brother saw it first, and his reaction led me to believe it was something very special (he was seven). Maybe the greatest thing ever. And when you're four its easy to have your expectations met and even exceeded.

"A New Hope" clearly was a pioneering film in many ways, and amongst its paradigm shifting influences was its highly effective marketing. And it all worked extremely well on me. Star Wars figures and accessories, Star Wars sheets and pillow cases, Star Wars Halloween costumes, Star Wars lunch boxes, and on and on to the Outer Rim. Seriously, one of the primary focuses of my young life was acquiring Star Wars figures, they were like a drug. I still have a special fondness for the particular characters and ships that personally belonged to me, Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, the partial Death Star set with working trash compactor and rubber Diagnoga, a Dewback, Slave-1, etc., etc. Of course they're all gone now, lost or broken. I played constantly with those toys, crafting my own child-logic, miniature, plastic melodramas.

The Star Wars movies created spin-off material and appearances on other programs. I came across an article in my research where the author was moaning, groaning and rabidly snarking over early Star Wars era appearances of R2-D2 and C-3PO on "Sesame Street" and it was clear the individual who wrote the piece did not experience Star Wars as it was happening. The "Sesame Street" appearances obviously weren't crafted for a jaded teen to adult fan audience. It was for little, little kids. They loved it. I was one of them. I loved "The Muppet Show" with R2, 3PO, Chewbacca and Luke (also appearing as Luke's cousin Mark Hamill). I loved the "Star Wars Holiday Special". I would have loved "Droids" except it was on ABC and our antenna couldn't pick up any affiliates. A small part of me died each Saturday morning while it was on the air. In short, I cared a lot more about all things Star Wars as a child then any system recognized as a religion or a philosophy.

Of course Star Wars was not created in a vacuum. it was inspired by many sources. For people of my age and disposition Star Wars led to an interest in the works that informed it as well as the many works that were in turn inspired from it. The first comic book I ever bought for myself was a Marvel Comics Star Wars issue, and it was the first title I ever subscribed to as well. Love of Star Wars led me to Jack Kirby, The Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, Joseph Campbell, Akira Kirosawa, et al. Star Wars instilled a love of and passion for the mythic, the epic, the fantastic, the dream-like, the Baroque. It's by no means a straight line, but its safe to say that Star Wars led to my overriding life interests in art history and esoteric symbolism.

I should note that, despite how it may seem while reading this, that I am not a stereotypical Star Wars fanatic, not that there's anything wrong with that. But I haven't bought a Star Wars toy (unless you count video or role playing games) made after 1985. I don't have any posters, I no longer have any of my comic books (unfortunately), I've never been to a convention, I don't speak Huttese. Like many people around my age my youthful Star Wars mania subsided as a teenager (but it never went away). I didn't see Episodes I-III in the theater, something I now regret. When I did see "The Phantom Menace" I was initially disappointed. I harbored mixed feelings towards all three sequels for some time. More recently, especially with my most recent viewings, I've come around on the matter. I'm not quite a prequel-apologist, but I think they're good films. They add new levels of depth to the franchise. My initial reactions were not just wrong but wrong minded.

If you're not sure what I mean by "esoteric symbolism", I use it to refer to symbolism that is hidden, secretive or otherwise not readily apparent. These are my observations and insights, and a lot of what I talk about may not be deemed "canonical". You very well may disagree with me. Sometimes esoteric symbols are purposeful and sometimes they are a matter of happenstance. It's not always possible to tell the difference, and to my way of thinking the intent is not the primary point of interest in most if not all cases. What will become clear, and I hope to make this case, is that George Lucas utilized many story telling techniques in crafting his epics, including occult symbolism to a degree that does not allow for the accidental. This does not necessarily mean that Lucas is an occultist (a term that should in no way be taken as derogatory or accusatory). I can't say one way or the other whether he is or isn't. He likely, as an artist and a storyteller, has an interest in and knowledge of occult symbolism. I have great interest in and some knowledge of occult symbolism, but I'm not an occultist. I'm an esoteric symbolist.

I'm detail oriented by nature. I tend to look into the little nooks and crannies of things that intrigue me. I'm planning to delve into Star Wars on many levels. I'll be dealing a lot with mythological systems of many sorts, religious iconography, and occurrences of synchronicity. Some of the subjects I discuss may read as many as "conspiracy" topics, including Freemasonry, the Knights Templar, Grail Legends, 2012, Alchemy, etc. As Star Wars is an inherently visual topic you can expect many images in my articles, far more then this introductory post would suggest. I'll be jumping right in with my next post. And as we should expect it all starts with a couple of droids.

May the Force be with you, always.

Mistery Science Theater

This poster for writer/director Frank Darabont's "The Mist" describes the essential plot of the story in strictly visual terms. Store front windows are formatted as twin columns with a door radiating light positioned between. A portal has been opened between two worlds. The top of the windows curve like the vault of the heavens. What looks like shadowy mountains are actually overturned cars, hard to read in this little image. This is a movie worth seeing despite its mixed reviews. It's one of those love it or hate it films, but I predict it will develop a cult following, it's impeccably crafted and its connotations are dark and difficult. Regardless of opinion, I doubt that this is a film that any but the most jaded of individuals could watch without experiencing a strong emotional reaction. Disliking "The Mist" does not seem to be a matter of apathy.

There have been film adaptations of many, many works by Stephen King, some great, some not so great, and many in between. Previous King works by Darabont include "The Green Mile" and "The Shawshank Redemption". I promise not to spoil the movie, but I wanted to highlight some aspects of this film. On its surface this is a story about the end of the world, the transforming effects of fear, mob mentality and man's inhumanity to man. As stated it is about the opening of a doorway between two worlds, a device referring to Age Shift and the mutable quality of time. In this case it is not a story of a person or persons being transported to another world or dimension but the reverse. This time Oz goes to Kansas.

Or rather the Dreamlands go to Maine (however, in the novella the road leading from the Drayton house to Bridgton is Kansas Road). As a Stephen King tale it is no surprise that the action of "The Mist" takes place in small town Maine. One of the changes made by Darabont in his adaptation was the decision to transfer the location of "The Mist" from the real world locale of Bridgton, ME to King's fictional Castle Rock, ME. This choice may simply have been made to keep from attaching this horror to a real location, but whatever the motivation, it generates some points of interest. King has created a trio of fictional Maine towns where many of his stories are set, Castle Rock, Jerusalem's Lot ('Salem's Lot), and Derry. This is comparable, and inspired by, H.P. Lovecraft's trinity of Arkham, Dunwich, and Innsmouth. King derived the name "Castle Rock" from the natural stone fortress occupied by Jack Merridew and his followers in William Golding's "Lord of the Flies", a work that clearly informs "The Mist". King works set in Castle Rock include "The Dead Zone", "Cujo", "The Body" (adapted by Rob Reiner into "Stand By Me", leading to the development of Castle Rock Entertainment, though for some reason the Castle Rock of the film was transferred from Maine to Oregon), "The Dark Half" and "Needful Things".

Much of the fiction of Stephen King can be read as an allegory of art as magic, a point that can be seen through his frequent use of a writer as protagonist. In some of his stories this role is filled by a visual artist as is the case with "The Mist". Everyman David Drayton is a successful commercial artist. In the novella David Drayton is described as coming from a family of artists including his father, grandfather and brothers. Set in Maine, this is a clear reference to the Wyeths, and if this was not obvious enough Drayton describes his father, Andrew Drayton's most famous work as being titled "Christine Standing Alone", a nod to Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World".


Andrew Wyeth, "Christina's World", 1948

Darabont then made use of the artist protagonist to pay tribute to commercial artist Drew Struzan. While you may not know his name you definitely know his work (see www.drewstuzan.com and The Drew Movie Poster Page). Here's the Struzan version of the poster for "The Mist".



"The Mist" begins with David Drayton working in his studio, a virtual recreation of the work space of Struzan. Hanging on the walls are paintings by Struzan including his "montage" composition for "The Shawshank Redemption", the poster from John Carpenter's "The Thing", and an image for Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth".







"The Thing" shares thematic and visual elements with "The Mist". Carpenter also directed "The Fog" (starting in 1980 Carpenter released "The Fog", "Escape From New York", "The Thing", "Christine" and "Starman", one per year). Darabont was so impressed by the visual effects of "Pan's Labyrinth" he hired the digital effects artists from that film for "The Mist". In ways this is the essential recipe of Darabont's "The Mist" with one more key ingredient.



This poster for a fictional in-movie "The Dark Tower" film is a treat for the die hard King fans and it adds some interesting allusions and symbolic implications . First, it completes the recipe denoted in this scene, as Book Five of the seven part series was illustrated by horror comic master Bernie Wrightson. Wrightson has a long standing working relationship with King, having also illustrated "The Cycle of the Werewolf" and "The Stand". He provided the creature designs used for "The Mist", which are available for viewing at the Wrightson Art Forum.

Those familiar with "The Dark Tower" will recognize this as the literal axle to which all of King's stories attach and rotate around. Of course a Tower, quite clearly in this case, is symbolic of the Axis Mundi, the "collapse" of which marks the end of time/Age Shift. This connotation is repeated by a story concerning the apocalypse at the locale of Castle Rock/Bridgton. Another prevalent symbol for the Axis Mundi is the Tree. As David Drayton paints a highlight on the Rose his lights flicker and go out. A violent storm hits the area, including a waterspout spinning over the lake. David and his wife and son take shelter in the basement. The high wind causes a tree in their yard (his Grandfather's Tree) to fall, smashing through the picture window of the studio. The canvas for the nearly completed "Dark Tower" poster is destroyed beyond repair. This story begins with the wreckage of the Tower and what follows is the consequence, the end of days.

The bulk of the story takes place within the confines of a Castle Rock supermarket as David Drayton, his young son Billy and his neighbor/antagonist Brent Norton go to pick up post-storm supplies, only to find themselves trapped at the store when the title Mist falls over the area. In the novella the store is called the Federal Foods Supermarket. Darabont chose to rename it "Food House". This appropriately suggests a storage place for necessities (also a key location of "Pan's Labyrinth") as might be needed in an emergency. I discussed the esoteric symbolism for "the House" a bit in my article on "Howl's Moving Castle", Birdhouse In Your Soul. In that case I focused on the essential House-iness of the Castle symbol, and here we have a Food House located in Castle Rock. The House symbolizes Tradition, so it is easy to read the Food House as the Nourishing Tradition.

Darabont shot "The Mist" is Shreveport, Louisiana, using a local grocery store for the exterior shots of the Food House. He was so taken by the store that he had it largely recreated for the interior scenes. Recalling the Oz symbolism mentioned earlier, it is interesting that the Food House features bands of color along three of its four walls, Green, Yellow and Orange/Red. The fourth wall is the store's glass front, its windows showing the Blue of the sky under normal circumstances or the bluish tint of the Mist in the story. If that's not a convincing enough Blue for you, then I direct our attention to the Blue Rocket children's ride in front of the Food House, the cone of which is visible in the sixth picture that follows.














If we position the "Blue" side, the entrance, to the East we find these colors laid out in the exact same combination and position as the map of Oz. Munchkinland is of course the country where Dorothy Gale entered Oz.



While what exactly causes the Mist to fall on Castle Rock is never explained it is suggested that it might be the result of top secret energy research at a nearby military facility called "The Arrowhead Project". This very well might be a reference to the star Sirius.

Other works mentioned by Darabont in the commentary track that inform or are referenced by "The Mist" include "The Twilight Zone" episode "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street", "The Outer Limits" episode "The Zanti Misfits", the Shirley Jackson classic "The Lottery", the Frankenheimer adaptation of "The Manchurian Candidate", and George A. Romero's original "Night of the Living Dead". I want to give as little of the story away as possible here, but in the scene with the most blatant initiation symbolism, the trip to the neighboring pharmacy, David Drayton grabs a comic book off a rack to comfort his son, which happens to be an issue of "Hellboy". The pharmacy is renamed "King's Pharmacy" for the film. In the movie adaptation of "Thinner" King plays a pharmacist.



David Drayton is played by Thomas Jane, who was also one of the stars of the (terrible) film adaptation of King's "Dreamcatcher" (which also featured "Shawshank's" Morgan Freeman), and is probably best known for playing "The Punisher" in the more recent movie based on the Templar resonating character. Those familiar with the origin of the Punisher who have also seen "The Mist" might notice the irony of these roles being played by the same actor. Note that the Punisher's real name is Frank Castle. In the still above Jane is pictured with Toby Jones as unlikely hero Ollie Weeks. Jones provided the voice for Dobby the House Elf in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", and has a role in this Fall's "City of Ember". His father Freddie Jones played in a slew of interesting films.

The other principle cast member is Academy award winner Marcia Gay Harden in the key role of Mother Carmody. Harden is riveting in the difficult part of the fire and brimstone preaching, would-be cult leader Carmody. Fans of King's (particularly "The Stand") will recognize her true affiliation by her intoning the line "My life for You" during a pivotal moment for her character. While Carmody believes herself to be a servant of God and the hero of this story, we can be certain that if she were in "The Stand" rather then "The Mist" she would have ended up in Las Vegas rather then Colorado. In the novella, Carmody runs an antique shop, a job also held by the vampire Kurt Barlow in "Salem's Lot" and Mr. Gaunt in "Needful Things" (the latter also operating in Castle Rock).



Also exceptional is Andre Braugher playing the disbelieving Brent Norton. Last year Braugher also played the part of General Hager in "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (which like "the Mist" is a story about the End of the World/Age Shift, though in a much different context). Braugher is the man leading the group pictured in the still below.



Another Fantastic Four alumni appearing in "The Mist" is Laurie Holden, as school teacher Amanda Dumfries. She was in the first FF film playing Debbie McIlvane, the girlfriend of Ben Grimm who can't deal with his mutation into the Thing. Holden also appears in the TV series "The Shield" which stars Michael Chiklis, the actor who plays the Thing. Darabont is a self described fan of "The Shield" and directed an episode. He then hired much of the crew from "The Shield" to film "The Mist" because of their talent for shooting at a rapid pace and working in a documentary-type style.

Other major players include Darabont/King regulars Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen and William Sadler (below on Harden's right, you may not recognize him but he was also the Grim Reaper in "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" for which he won a Saturn award).



Stephen King, who frequently cameos in movies based on his books, does not appear in this film, but he was offered the role of the man tied to the other end of this rope. I recognized Samuel Witwer, playing the made for the film Private Jessup from the Arrowhead Project, from a couple of episodes from the first season of "Dexter". Norm the bag boy is Chris Owen from the "American Pie" series.

Having mentioned the connections here to "The Dark Tower" and "The Stand", we can look to the fourth "Dark Tower" novel "Wizard and Glass" for our clearest description of what the Mist that falls over Bridgton/Castle Rock really is. It is apparently a "Thinny", a thin spot in the barrier between realities. In "Wizard and Glass" Roland the Gunslinger and his ka-tet traverse a Thinny connecting to a version of Topeka, Kansas depopulated by the superflu from "The Stand". "Wizard and Glass" ends with the companions setting out from the Emerald City of Oz.

Birdhouse In Your Soul - Two

I ended part one with Sophie Hatter, the Witch of the Waste and Heen the dog fleeing the King's soldiers on a dragonfly-like flying machine, guided back to Howl's Castle by a beam emitting magic ring connected to Calcifer the fire demon. Unfortunately Howl failed to teach Sophie how to land. The Castle's mouth-like facade opens to admit her and she crashes inside. Remembering the essentially feminine symbolism of a House/Castle, it is easy to see the sexual symbolism inherent here, interestingly with female Sophie penetrating the male Howl (via his Castle).


Markl rushes to greet her. We can note here how despite the hard landing Sophie has managed to keep the Wheel (of Fate) firmly in hand. Only one of the three handles of the Wheel remains attached, perhaps conferring that Sophie has now completed two parts of a three step initiation cycle.

That night everyone in the Castle sleeps when Howl returns home, still in partial bird-form, bleeding and now also ethereal, partially transparent, as if he is fading away. Calcifer warns that this time Howl has gone too far. Howl walks through like a ghost, silent, trailing bloody footprints and feathers. Sophie, young because she's sleeping, wakes up and sees the blood and feathers. She gets up to check on Howl, remaining youthful, illuminating a candle to light her way.



Note the placement of this essential enlightenment symbol beside a book marked with a basic Tetramorph pattern, the Cosmic Cube. Note too the Grail form of her candlestick holder. Sophie makes her way upstairs and enters Howl's room, but finds it has become a tunnel, rather subterranean, lined with Howl's collection, with an overwhelming amount of toys and other childhood objects.



We could probably play "Where's Waldo" with this scene there is so much to look at, but I wanted to point out the close combination of Templar symbolizing White Horse, Sword and right beside it a Solar Cross in red and green. This literally on top of a kilt wearing doll with its head buried in the ground, which one could read as Templarism going underground in Scotland. Perhaps then the telescope and corner of the gilded picture frame suggest examining the arts for what has been hidden.



And here we have Sophie again in close proximity to the Wheel. At foot level to her right are twin columns topped with a green pyramid made from children's blocks. Recall the twin-pillar arch in the Ernst piece at the start of part one of this article, and seen several times as a background decoration during the magic acts of "The Prestige", and the Green Pyramid topped Wayne Tower in "Batman Begins". Deep in the cave Sophie finds Howl, huge and barely human. In fact he is particularly Bat-Faced.



When Howl is in pain his voice sounds exactly like Bale's Batman voice (differentiated from his Bruce Wayne voice). He tells Sophie to go away but she refuses. She insists she's going to break the spell on Howl, but he reminds her she can't even break the spell on herself before he flies away deeper into the tunnels. As this happens Sophie becomes old again.

Sophie then wakes up. This was just a dream, though we must remember that Dreamtime is the Other World, Howl's Castle is the Other World, and the story itself takes place in an Other World, making this a dream, within a dream, within a dream. Clearly the tunnels lined with childhood things is a visualization of the subconscious, and this made explicit here further identifies Howl's item packed room seen in part one as the same. The Castle is the body of Howl, and the room where he dreams is that body's mind.

And what is Calcifer in this equation? Having learned from Suliman that Howl's heart was stolen by a demon, Sophie tries to pry details from Calcifer regarding his contract with Howl, but Calcifer refuses. That morning Markl, Turnip Head and Heen help Sophie extract the flying machine from the Castle.



I include the above image merely because it's charming. They all then gather for breakfast. Calcifer is suspicious of the new guests, especially the Witch of the Waste. Though now seemingly completely senile she still displays a fascination with the fire demon.

Howl runs down in good spirits, and while he comments on the Witch and Suliman's dog being at his house he does not seem overly concerned. He meets Turnip Head for the first time, recognizing the nasty spell on him, commenting that everyone in their "family" has problems. Howl announces they have a lot of work to do as they must move the Castle to elude Suliman. He tells Turnip Head that the spell on him is too powerful and he'll have to stay behind. Outside the castle Howl lays out chalk lines into a magic circle.



Note the pyramidal, eye-like sign he makes. Calcifer moves the Castle onto the magic mark. Inside Howl draws a second, smaller circle.



It's nice to see an example of Chalk Magic so close to having written my article Night Divides The Day about the film "Day Watch" and its Chalk of Fate. Howl gathers Calcifer up in a fireplace shovel and the fire demon releases his magic, taking on a more dynamic form as he does so.



Immediately the Castle starts to change form around them. Repairs are made, new rooms grow, and fine furnishings drop into place. The main room of the Castle is now finely decorated including Rose patterned wall paper.

While moving the Castle is a matter of protection, the alterations Howl makes are purely for Sophie's benefit. This includes a doorway opening to her hometown Market Chipping, and the recreation of her room at the hat shop. As Sophie looks about the room she de-ages momentarily. Sophie does not understand this gesture, stating it is the perfect room for a "cleaning woman", despite the gifts Howl has placed for her in the room. Now that the Castle no longer opens to Porthaven or Kingsbury there are new locations to replace them on the Wheel. We can note that the Market Chipping door is denoted as Gold.



The Red Door however leads to someplace even more important, the heart of this film, and Howl states it is a present for Sophie. The Red, which is really more of a Rose, now opens to Howl's Secret Garden.



That's how he describes it. We can recall that Sophie's story begins with her in a false garden. This is the real deal. Sophie reverts nearly to her full youth in this place, idyll and ideal, she describes it as perfect, like a Dream, and familiar though she'd never been there before, instantly like home. Howl then leads her to a small Mill house.



He describes it as his secret place to be alone as a child. I find it quite interesting how, on the color Wheel of Howl's door, Gold now leads to the location of Sophie's childhood, an exoteric reality so much so that she grew up and lived in a shop, partly open to the public. The Rose leads to the esoteric reality of Howl's childhood, a Secret Garden, a meditative place for him alone. The Mill is a major symbol, not just of Time but of the process and quality of Time. A Mill set in an Eden is clearly indicative of the Golden Age. And while this may not seem at all to be an Oz related scene, it actually is in a couple of different ways. Approaching the idealized Emerald City, Dorothy and Company are waylaid in the Poppy fields (emblematic of Isis/Demeter/Ceres). Sophie describes Howl's Secret Garden as a Dream, which is the state the poppies send Dorothy, the Lion and Toto into (the Scarecrow and the Tin Man are immune to intoxication).

Maybe more interesting then this is the inherent relationship between the symbols of the Mill and the Tornado. In "Hamlet's Mill" authors Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend identify the Shakespearian figure with the Icelandic hero Amlodhi, about whom they state:

"Amlodhi was identified, in the crude and vivid imagery of the Norse, by the ownership of a fabled mill which, in his own time, ground out peace and plenty. Later, in decaying times, it ground out salt; and now finally, having landed at the bottom of the sea, it is grinding rock and sand, creating a vast whirlpool, the Maelstrom (i.e., the grinding stream, from the verb mala, "to grind"), which is supposed to be a way to the land of the dead. This imagery stands, as the evidence develops, for an astronomical process, the secular shifting of the sun through the signs of the zodiac which determines world-ages, each numbering thousands of years. Each age brings a World Era, a Twilight of the Gods. Great structures collapse; pillars topple which supported the great fabric; floods and cataclysms herald the shaping of a new world".

Amlodhi/Hamlet then is one and the same as Saturn/Chronus, the lord of the Golden Age. The Mill, the Axis Mundi, collapses creating in its place the Maelstrom. The Maelstrom is inherently related to the whirlwind, apparent through the association of the whirlwind to the counter clockwise spiral, a symbol of Poseidon. As stated before, this makes the Tornado that carries Dorothy to Oz a symbol of Age Shift, as is nearly if not always the case with magical portals in fantasy fiction. The country of Oz is itself Tetramorphic in nature.



      We find the essential image of Oz as the indication Wheel for the magic door. Like the Emerald City, the magic door functions in such a way as to make Howl's Castle the Center. It is even conceivable that the shift in the color wheel, the removal of Blue for Yellow, is a subtle in-joke related to the geographical confusion between Munchkin Land and Winkie Land , whether or not the East and West of Oz are congruent or opposite those of the real world, which is truly an interesting detail in what is essentially a solar allegory.

Sophie is enchanted but she still senses something is wrong, and intuits that Howl is providing for her and their friends, because he will soon be leaving and very well won't be coming back. She expresses her strongest desire as wanting to rescue Howl from the curse turning him into a monster, even though she is not pretty and only good for cleaning. Howl tells Sophie that she is beautiful, but she obviously does not believe this as when he says it she instantly becomes old again. Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of a passing aircraft.



Two children are threatened by a nightingale. It is a flying battleship. Howl is surprised and disgusted to find them flying even in an area as remote as this, and for certain, though not stated, because they are invading the sanctuary of his Secret Garden as he's presenting it to Sophie as a safe haven. Sophie asks if the ship is from their kingdom or the enemy's, but it makes no difference to Howl. We can also take interest in the close proximity here of a Mill and a Zeppelin like air craft. Howl can't abide letting them pass with their payload of bombs, so he casts a spell causing engine malfunction. The ship starts to list in the sky and we hear alarms sounding.



The pink and gold flag confirms it as a craft from their Kingdom, Ingary. Note the 71 or 17 reversed. One of the indicators of the occult significance of 17 comes from the Tarot, where it is the number of the Star Trump. If you're not already familiar with the story of "Howl's Moving Castle" my emphasis of this will become clear as this article progresses. Suffice it to say that in this context 71 is the anti-Star.

Casting the spell causes Howl's left arm to break out in claws and feathers. He assures Sophie that he is just messing with them and the ship won't crash. An ovapositor-like aperture on the ship spits out several of the Boschian flying tadpole-men, Sulimen's agents. Howl urges Sophie to run, sprouts wings and then lifts her by the arms, flying towards the exit to the Castle with Sulimen's henchmen in close pursuit. He tosses her and his magic carries her through the door and back into the Castle, the entrance shifting back to Gold behind her.

That evening Sophie tucks the Witch of the Waste into bed. The Witch, who seems to have regained some of her faculties, can tell that Sophie is in love, an observation that delivers a measure of youth to Sophie. Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of air raid sirens. Suliman's tadpole men scour Market Chipping looking for the Castle's entrance. Elsewhere huge bird-like warplanes engage in a bombing blitz. Howl soars above the battlefield. Note the high visual comparability of the following shot to one from "Batman Begins".





I believe this would be striking even if both characters weren't performed by Christian Bale and the two films released less then a week apart. The next morning Markl and Heen step out of the hat shop door in Market Chipping in disguise and carrying roses. I believe he and Sophie may be setting out to sell flowers from the Garden as Howl suggested, and my sister tells me this is an allusion to Markl romancing a younger sister of Sophie's in the novel, but this is never made clear. As far as I'm concerned Roses speak for themselves.



Markl is startled by the arrival of an unfamiliar woman and rushes to get Sophie. It is Sophie's mother. They have a tearful reunion. Sophie's mother demonstrates her ditziness, taking brief but fleeting interest in the sleeping Witch and how different the interior of the shop is (as it is now actually the inside of the Castle). Even Sophie's elderly state barely seems to phase her. It is apparent that the physical status of daughter being older then the mother is a reflection of these characters' natures and relationship.




Recalling that the last time we saw her Sophie's mother was wearing a hat indicating the story of the Swan Knight, we can take great interest here in her row of Blue Roses. It may seem I have a bee in my bonnet regarding this character's head gear. Maybe so. Her name, by the way, is Honey Hatter.

Honey informs Sophie that she has remarried, and that her new husband is wealthy so they can all live together and Sophie will no longer have to work as a cleaning lady. Sophie replies that she likes living where she is. Honey easily accepts this and rushes out again as she has a car waiting. After she and Sophie have left the room the Witch of the Waste rises from her fake slumber and dashes over to pick up a purse Honey has left behind. She opens the bag and extracts a long, black worm.



She calls it a Spy Bug (though it could be called a Stygian Leech) and comments on this as a poor try on the part of Suliman. I can't help but be reminded of the Spy Flys from "The Golden Compass". The Witch tosses the Spy Bug to Calcifer to consume. He destroys it, but it makes him very sick. Outside we see that the driver of the car Honey rides in is one of Suliman's pages. She angrily reports that she's done as she was told and asks to be returned to her husband, then quietly hopes Sophie will forgive her betrayal. In front of the shop Sophie and Markl watch a stream of people evacuating the town. Markl, having heard Honey ask Sophie to move in with her, asks Sophie if she's going to leave too, but Sophie assures him that she's staying, that they're a family now, and the two embrace like mother and child.

Back inside Sophie tries to revive Calcifer with bellows, but he remains feeble, little more then embers. The Spy Bug has made him sick in a serious way. The Witch of the Waste puffs away at a cigar she found in the purse. We can honestly ask what it is that she's smoking considering Heen's reaction.



Markl reads in the newspaper that their kingdom is winning the war, but the Witch states that only fools believe what they read in the paper. The smoke is irritating everyone so Sophie asks Markl to open a window. The Witch advises against this as Suliman's agents are searching for them and Calcifer is in no state to protect the Castle. Then the bombs start to fall on Market Chipping.

Sophie runs out to check on the hat shop, but is chased back inside by Suliman's blob-men. As the bombs drop Howl flies over the town trying to do what little he can, personally steering one away from the shop. He then escorts Sophie (youthful save for her hair) back inside the Castle.



Inside Howl breaths life back into Calcifer, but the fire demon is still weak and far from peak ability. The Witch states she and Howl need to have a talk and he agrees, but doesn't have time at the moment, then leaves to continue protecting Sophie's shop from the bombardment.



Blob-men continue to try to force their way in, so Sophie uses the magic door to move the Castle to the Wastes, from where she can still witness the attack on Market Chipping. She sees Howl battling fiercely in a completely bestial form. Turnip Head is nearby, waiting for Sophie. Sophie realizes that the only way to save Howl from the war and himself is to move the Castle so that he no longer feels like he must protect the shop. To do this she takes the radical step of removing Calcifer from the Castle. Once he passes the threshold the Castle collapses. It is raining and Calcifer is close to being doused, but Turnip Head leads the company back into the shelter of the Castle's remains.

Sophie now wants to rescue Howl and convinces Calcifer to try to physically move the Castle into town to do so. But Calcifer is a demon and demands a bargain, suggesting Sophie give him her eyes. Instead she cuts off her long braid and feeds it to him. This is enough to motivate a small portion of the wreckage, which starts to amble towards Market Chipping. Calcifer states he could have done much more with Sophie's Heart. The Witch of the Waste suddenly comprehends the bargain between Howl and Calcifer. Howl is heartless because he has given his to Calcifer as part of their contract. The Heart of Howl is of course what the Witch desires more then anything, and now that she sees her prize close at hand she greedily grabs onto Calcifer. But this causes him to lose control of the Castle and as Calcifer is living fire the Witch starts to burn. Still she will not let go. In a clear evocation of Oz, Sophie throws a bucket of water on the witch to put the flames out, and this reduces Calcifer to a feeble ember.



Note too that the addition of the white apron to Sophie's blue dress is highly reminiscent of Disney's Alice, which becomes more noteworthy momentarily. The Castle collapses, splitting into two pieces, and Sophie and Heen fall into a ravine, separated from the rest of their company.



Note the intact Wheel placed behind a broken Beam. Speaking of Beams, Sophie realizes she may have just killed both Calcifer and Howl, but a faint beam of Blue light from her Ring shows they still live.



She follows the Beam to the Castle's still intact Magic Door, the Black Door, leading apparently to full Darkness.



Sophie, followed by Heen, bravely enters. Taking a light to darkness, is the Illumination of Mystery.



And we can clearly see that this Magic Portal, this Waycross, is a Water Door. They emerge in Howl's Secret Garden. Overhead Falling Stars streak across the sky.



They extinguish, dying as they hit the ground. Sophie sees a young Howl observing this as well and realizes the portal has led her to Howl's past.



Sophie's ring seems to react with the death of each Fallen Star. She watches as the child Howl catches one of the Stars before it hits the ground.



And then he swallows it.



Calcifer emerges from Howl's chest, where his Heart was. This is the bargain made between Howl and the fire demon, in fact a Fallen Star (compare the conjuncture of Fallen Star and Hearts/Love in Neil Gaiman's "Stardust"). To save the Star, Howl gives him his Heart. This is what makes Howl the Heartless Man, and we might note that this too is why Howl is really a child in a man's body. Howl's emotional development ceased when he bargained his Heart away. Suddenly Sophie's Ring breaks and the magic that led her to this place goes with it. The ground beneath her opens like a well and she falls away, but as she does she calls out to Howl that she'll save him one day in the future. Howl hears her and looks her way as she falls. We can assume that this foreknowledge is what led Howl to Sophie to begin with, their meeting in Market Chipping no mere coincidence. Sophie is literally the girl Howl waited his whole life for.



This image of Sophie's drop clearly indicates Alice's fall down the rabbit hole.



Sophie and Heen fall through the Earth and into the Sky. Difficult to see in the still above are the Two Pillar-like natural projections beneath them.



Reminding us that this is essentially solar allegory, we watch Sophie fall past a horizon line, and enters a dark, near-featureless limbo. Heen fulfills the Dog's essential purpose in journeys to Otherworlds and guides Sophie back to the Castle's door.





They emerge to find Howl waiting for them. The over-extension of his magic has left him barely human, a monstrous heap of feathers.



When she speaks to him his humanity somewhat emerges, but still he is hardly human, and isn't even properly a bird.





Howl flies Sophie and Heen to Howl and the rest of their friends, left teetering on a platform on a cliff's edge.



It is hard not to read this image of the Witch and Markl cowering beneath the cruciform of Turnip Head as religious in nature.



At this point Howl has just a single, monstrous bird-leg, and it's possible to read this supporting of a Blue Bird form as the Axis Mundi that supports the vault of the heavens, very similar to the symbolism of the Umbrella. Exhausted, Howl collapses, the feathers blow away in the wind leaving his human form lying prone on the platform near death.



To live Howl needs his Heart back, and Sophie pleads with the Witch of the Waste to return it. The Witch overcomes her greed and hands Calcifer to Sophie.





Returning Howl's Heart sets Calcifer free, and he flies away in his original Shooting Star form, exalting in his freedom. But when he leaves the magic animating the platform goes with him. The legs collapse and the platform slides down a steep hill towards the precipice. Turnip Head jumps in front to halt their momentum.



He stops them just in time, but his support post was ground away in the process. In thanks for saving all of their lives Sophie kisses Turnip Head.



And as should be expected it is a kiss that was needed to break Turnip Head's curse. He instantly transforms to his normal form.



He is in fact a Prince, the missing Prince from the neighboring kingdom whose disappearance set off the war. Interesting to note that at the end of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" it is the Scarecrow who becomes the ruler of Oz. Now that he's back to his normal self he can return to his home kingdom and have his father stop the senseless war. Howl now revives (resurrects) from his deathlike state. Suliman watches this all through her Looking Glass. Heen looks back at her and laughs at her expense. She calls the dog a traitor. Calcifer flies back as he quickly realized he missed his family.



The story ends with the family living happily in a new and improved Castle.



Having overcome all their trials, their initiations, the characters transcend to an elevated state. The Castle itself becomes the Bird. This is an interesting point as it closes several circles, and I think this might even be Miyazaki's commentary on synchronicity. Diana Wynne Jones did write a second book set in the Kingdom of Ingary, called "Castle In The Air", but it is not in actuality a sequel to "Howl's Moving Castle". Not only is Miyazaki making reference to this, but to his own work as well, "Laputa: Castle In The Sky" is the first film released by Studio Ghibli ("Nausicaa" not being an official Ghibli production), the inception of a priceless tradition of exceptional dream realizations.